Gummy stem blight is a major foliar disease of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.). In this study, morphological characteristics and rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were analyzed to identify the causal organism of this disease. Morphological examination of the Jeonbuk isolate revealed that the percentage of monoseptal conidia ranged from 0% to 10%, and the average length x width of the conidia was 70 (+/- 0.96) x 32.0 (+/- 0.15) microm on potato dextrose agar. The BLAST analysis showed nucleotide gaps of 1/494, 2/492, and 1/478 with identities of 485/492 (98%), 492/494 (99%), 491/494 (99%), and 476/478 (99%). The similarity in sequence identity between the rDNA ITS region of the Jeonbuk isolate and other Didymella bryoniae from BLAST searches of GenBank was 100% and was 95.0% within the group. Nucleotide sequences of the rDNA ITS region from pure culture ranged from 98.2% to 99.8%. Phylogenetic analysis with related species of D. bryoniae revealed that D. bryoniae is a monophyletic group distinguishable from other Didymella spp., including Ascochyta pinodes, Mycosphaerella pinodes, M. zeae-maydis, D. pinodes, D. applanata, D. exigua, D. rabiei, D. lentis, D. fabae, and D. vitalbina. Phylogenetic analysis, based on rDNA ITS sequence, clearly distinguished D. bryoniae and Didymella spp. from the 10 other species studied. This study identified the Jeonbuk isolate to be D. bryoniae.
Agar ; Base Sequence ; Bryonia ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Glucose ; Solanum tuberosum ; Spores, Fungal

Agrocybe aegerita is an important mushroom cultivated in Korea, with good feel and a peculiar fragrance. A. aegerita can be cultivated throughout the year using culture bottles but is more susceptible to contamination than other mushrooms. Twenty-two pathogens were isolated from the fruiting bodies and compost of A. aegerita, and seven isolates were isolated from Pleurotus ostreatus to compare with the A. aegerita isolates, collected from Gimje, Iksan, Gunsan of Chonbuk, and Chilgok of Gyeongbuk Province in 2009. These isolates were identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Of the 29 isolates, 26 were identified as Trichoderma spp. and the remaining three were Aspergillus spp., Mucor spp., and Penicillium spp. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the 26 isolates of Trichoderma were divided into four taxa, namely T. harzianum, T. pleuroticola, T. longibrachiatum, and T. atroviride. Among the Trichoderma spp., 16 isolates (55.2%) were identified as T. harzianum, six as T. pleuroticola (20.7%), two as T. longibrachiatum, and the remaining two were T. atroviride.
Agaricales ; Agrocybe ; Aspergillus ; Fruit ; Korea ; Mucor ; Penicillium ; Pleurotus ; Soil ; Trichoderma

The pendulum test, recognized as a reliable measure of spasticity, has been replaced in this study by a video-based two dimensional motion analysis system. Using twenty five patients with spasticity(21 males, 4 females; mean age 46.6 year-old) in their lower legs due to lesions affecting the central nervous system and twenty two persons without any evidence of hypertonia(all males; mean age 23.4 year-old), five parameters such as relaxation index(RI), amplitude ratio(AR), torque at maximal acceleration velocity, number of swing and swing time were obtained for the purpose of documenting the reliability of the video-based two dimensional motion analysis system for the evaluation of spasticity. The values of RI(P<0.05), AR(P<0.01), and swing time(P<0.05) in patients with spasticity were significantly lower than control, whereas the value of torque in patients was significantly higher than control(P<0.01). Spearman's correlation coefficients of the RI(r=+/-0.70894, P<0.001), AR(r=+/-0.71832, P<0.001), number of swing(r=+/-0.59037, P<0.05) and swing time(r=+/-0.59648, P<0.01) showed a statistically significant negative correlation with the modified Ashworth scale, whereas that of torque(r=0.59037, P<0.01) showed a significant positive correlation. In conclusion, a pendulum test using a video-based two dimensional motion analysis system is a simple, and a reliable method for the quantitative evaluation of spasticity.
Acceleration ; Central Nervous System ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Female ; Humans ; Leg ; Male ; Muscle Spasticity ; Relaxation ; Torque

Familial hypophosphatemic ricket (Vitamin D-resistant ricket), first described by Albright in 1937, has been known to be transmitted as an X-linked dominant trait in most families. Children with this disease would show growth retardation with characteristic clinical features such as congenital alopecia, genu varum or genu valgum, coxa vara and waddling gait. Although the physical features associated with this disease have been documented frequently, the potential involvement of auditory pathway due to abnormal bone formation in skull has not been explored frequently. We report a twenty six-month-old female child with familial hypophosphatemic ricket who presented abnormal findings of brainstem auditory evoked potential study. The impaired hearing function should be alerted as one of possible accompanying disabilities of the disease.
Alopecia ; Auditory Pathways ; Child* ; Coxa Vara ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Female ; Gait ; Genu Valgum ; Genu Varum ; Hearing ; Humans ; Osteogenesis ; Rickets, Hypophosphatemic* ; Skull

BACKGROUND: An area of the skull exposed by burn injury has been covered by various methods including local flap, skin graft, or free flap surgery. Each method has disadvantages, such as postoperative alopecia or donor site morbidities. Due to the risk of osteomyelitis in the injured skull during the expansion period, tissue expansion was excluded from primary reconstruction. However, successful primary reconstruction was possible in burned skull by tissue expansion. METHODS: From January 2000 to 2011, tissue expansion surgery was performed on 10 patients who had sustained electrical burn injuries. In the 3 initial cases, removal of the injured part of the skull and a bone graft was performed. In the latter 7 cases, the injured skull tissue was preserved and covered with a scalp flap directly to obtain natural bone healing and bone remodeling. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 49.9+/-12.2 years, with 8 male and 2 female. The size of the burn wound was an average of 119.6+/-36.7 cm2. The mean expansion duration was 65.5+/-5.6 days, and the inflation volume was an average of 615+/-197.6 mL. Mean defect size was 122.2+/-34.9 cm2. The complications including infection, hematoma, and the exposure of the expander were observed in 4 cases. Nonetheless, only 1 case required revision. CONCLUSIONS: Successful coverage was performed by tissue expansion surgery in burned skull primarily and no secondary reconstruction was needed. Although the risks of osteomyelitis during the expansion period were present, constant coverage of the injured skull and active wound treatment helped successful primary reconstruction of burned skull by tissue expansion.
Alopecia ; Burns ; Female ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Inflation, Economic ; Male ; Osteomyelitis ; Scalp ; Skin ; Skull ; Tissue Donors ; Tissue Expansion ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Phototherapy uses the changes caused by the athermal and atraumatic absorption of the photon's energy by the tissue for therapeutic effect. Phototherapy has been proven to be useful in various conditions, for example, in pain attenuation, wound healing and skin rejuvenation. The aim of this research was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of 830 nm LED phototherapy for burn patients. METHODS: We recruited 11 patients who visited this hospital between June and December 2012 with superficial 2nd degree burns to the face for comparative analysis. For phototherapy, we used infrared LED with wavelength of 830 nm. For comparative analysis, we covered one side of the face with sterile aluminum foil and fabric during the treatment. Photographs were taken at the time of each treatment and the time taken for epithelialization and the level of patient satisfaction were also investigated. RESULTS: All 11 patients were male and the mean age was 44.0+/-11.9 years (range of 28~63 years). The cause of the burns was flame burn for 7 patients, and electric sparks in 4 patients. The time taken to achieve epithelialization after the burns was 8.1+/-2.2 days (range 4~12 days) for the side that received phototherapy, while it was 9.1+/-2.9 days (range 4~14 days) for the side that was not treated with phototherapy. In terms of patient satisfaction, 3 patients were 'Very Satisfied', 6 patients were 'Satisfied', 2 patients replied 'Adequate' and none of the patients were 'Unsatisfied'. CONCLUSION: LED phototherapy of 830 nm wavelength can shorten the time taken for burn wound healing. It also was not associated with serious complications except for skin dryness, so it can be a useful treatment method for burns that produces satisfactory outcome for the patients.
Absorption ; Aluminum ; Burns ; Humans ; Infrared Rays ; Lasers, Semiconductor ; Male ; Patient Satisfaction ; Phototherapy ; Rejuvenation ; Skin ; Wound Healing

PURPOSE: Marjolin's ulcer is a rare malignancy that occur in chronic wounds or scars. Marjolin's ulcers tend to infiltrate adjacent tissue more extensively than squamous cell carcinoma that occurs in normal skin, and it is prone to recurrence and metastases, leading to a poor prognosis. Hence, its accurate diagnosis and treatment is very important. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value and clinical efficacy of preoperative 18F-FDG-PET/CT. METHODS: The study population consisted of 27 patients who were suspected to have Marjolin's ulcer who visited this hospital between January 2009 and June 2012, and who had also received preoperative PET/CT. To confirm the diagnostic efficacy of preoperative PET/CT, the PET/CT findings of the primary lesion and the lymph node, as well as the post-operative histology results were compared to investigate the sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates. RESULTS: The sensitivity and the specificity for the primary lesion of the Marjolin's ulcer in the preoperative PET/CT were 93.3% and 100% respectively. The false-positive rate and the false-negative rate here were 0% and 6.7% respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity for the lymph node metastases of the Marjolin's ulcer in the preoperative PET/CT were 100% and 66.7% respectively. The false-positive rate and the false-negative rate here were 33.3% and 0% respectively. The histological results of Marjolin's ulcer showed that 14 patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 1 had sarcoma. CONCLUSION: Preoperative PET/CT used for the assessment of Marjolin's ulcer and its primary lesion showed a high level of sensitivity and specificity. It was also useful because it allowed the assessment of the primary lesion, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases with a single test. However, the specificity for lymph node metastases was relatively lower, and more research would be needed to improve this.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cicatrix ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin ; Ulcer

PURPOSE: The wound of a patient who has chronic venous insufficiency is easy to recur. Also they develop a complication even after the conservative therapy or skin graft. We have to diagnose the venous stasis ulcer correctly and remove the cause to improve the effectiveness of treatment. We operated endoscopic perforating vein ligation and splitt thickness skin graft on a patient with venous stasis ulceration on right leg. METHODS: A 26 year old male patient who had a scalding burn on his right leg in July 2005 checked into our hospital in March 2008. Even though he got three operations-the split thickness skin graft-at different clinics, the wound did not heal. The size of the wound was 12 by 8 cm2 and granulation with edema and fibrosis had been formed. We kept observation on many collateral vessels and perforating vein through venogram and doppler sonography and firmly get to know that the wound came with chronic venous insufficiency. After a debridement and an application of VAC(r) for two weeks, the condition of granulation got better. So we proceeded with the operation using subfascial endoscopic perforating surgery and split thickness skin graft. RESULTS: Through the venogram after the operation, we found out that the collateral vessels had been reduced compared to the previous condition and the widened perforating vein disappeared. During a follow up of 6 months, the patient did not develop recurrent stasis ulcer and postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Subfascial endoscopic perforator ligation is a relatively simple technique with a low complication rate and recurrence rate. Split thickness skin graft with subfascial endoscopic perforator surgery can be a valuable method for treating severe venous stasis ulcers.
Burns ; Debridement ; Edema ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leg ; Ligation ; Male ; Porphyrins ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Transplants ; Varicose Ulcer ; Veins ; Venous Insufficiency

BACKGROUND: This paper discusses the treatment protocol for patients with frostbite. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a series of 17 patients with second- and higher-degree frostbite who had been treated at our medical institution between 2010 and 2012. RESULTS: Our clinical series of patients (n=17) included 13 men and four women, whose mean age was 42.4+/-11.6 years (range, 22-67 years). The sites of injury include the foot in six patients (35.3%), the hand in six patients (35.3%) and the facial region in five patients (29.4%). Seven patients with second-degree frostbite were completely cured with only conservative treatment during a mean period of 12.7+/-3.3 days (range, 8-16 days). Of the five patients with third-degree frostbite, two underwent skin grafting following debridement, and the remaining three achieved a complete cure with conservative treatment during a mean period of 35+/-4.3 days (range, 29-39 days). Five patients with fourth-degree frostbite were treated with surgical procedures including amputation. CONCLUSIONS: With the appropriate conservative management in the early stage of onset, surgeons should decide on surgery after waiting for a sufficient period of time until the demarcation of the wound. Continuous management of patients is also needed to achieve functional recovery after a complete cure has been achieved. This should also be accompanied by patient education for the avoidance of re-exposure to cold environments.
Clinical Protocols ; Cold Temperature ; Debridement ; Female ; Foot ; Frostbite ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Patient Education as Topic ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Transplantation ; Surgical Procedures, Operative

PURPOSE: A wart is caused by epidermal infection with the human papilloma virus. Although wart naturally disappears in some cases, it require treatment because of pain, aesthetic problem, and the possibility of malignant change. Conventional non-surgical treatment cannot be a fundamental solution for the pain and has such disadvantages as frequent recurrence and difficulties in achieving a satisfactory outcome. A surgical procedure was performed on patients with wart and the procedure had a good outcome. METHODS: We investigated the gender, age, lesion site, mean treatment duration, and presence or absence of recurrence in 21 patients with a wart within the period of January 2007 to July 2011. For local lesions, primary closure, including subcuticular suture after the excision, was performed. If the defect size was too big to do primary closure, we performed rotation flap. For wide multiple lesions, a split thickness skin graft was performed. RESULTS: Among the 21 patients, 12 patients were male and 9 patients were female, and their mean age was 42 years(SD=17.38, range: 11~75 years). The lesion site was the foot in 10 patients, the hand in 8 patients, the face in 2 patients, and the scalp in 1 patient. The mean treatment duration was 13.5 days(SD=4.36, range: 6~15 days) for the primary closure or rotation flap, and 18.5 days(SD=2.12, range: 17~20 days) for the skin graft. 20 patients were cured without recurrence. No recurrence was observed in the patients who underwent primary closure or rotation flap. One of the two patients who underwent a skin graft of their wart that had covered their entire palm had local recurrence in part of her finger tips. CONCLUSION: We performed surgical procedure on recalcitrant wart. As a results, we can treat it with short treatment duration, low recurrence rate and less scarring and get high patient satisfaction.
Cicatrix ; Female ; Fingers ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Papilloma ; Patient Satisfaction ; Recurrence ; Scalp ; Skin ; Sutures ; Transplants ; Viruses ; Warts